Extension Master Gardeners: Helping the Homeless to Heal

Families with children are the fastest-growing sector of the homeless population. Loss of one\u27s home, the conditions of shelter life, and the physical and sexual abuse that often precipitates homelessness result in psychological trauma and a diminished sense of self-efficacy and self-worth. This article describes the effects of participation in gardening activities led by Extension Master Gardeners on homeless women with children. Results show Master Gardeners can play an important role in helping homeless families mitigate the psychological trauma associated with homelessness and help homeless individuals develop a restored sense of dignity

Finiteness and children with specific language impairment: an exploratory study

Children with specific language impairment (SLI) are well known for their difficulties in mastering the inflectional paradigms; in the case of learning German they also have problems with the appropriate verb position, in particular with the verb in second position. This paper explores the possibilities of applying a broader concept of finiteness to data from children with SLI in order to put their deficits, or rather their skills, into a wider perspective. The concept, as developed by Klein (1998, 2000), suggests that finiteness is tied to the assertion that a certain state of affairs is valid with regard to some topic time; that is, finiteness relates the propositional content to the topic component. Its realization involves the interaction of various grammatical devices and, possibly, lexical means like temporal adverbs. Furthermore, in the acquisition of finiteness it has been found that scope particles play a major role in both first- and second-language learning. The purpose of this paper is to analyze to what extent three German-learning children with SLI have mastered these grammatical and lexical means and to pinpoint the phase in the development of finiteness they have reached. The data to be examined are mostly narrative and taken from conversations and experiments. It will be shown that each child chooses a different developmental path to come to grips with the interaction of these devices

Large-scale associations between the leukocyte transcriptome and BOLD responses to speech differ in autism early language outcome subtypes.

Heterogeneity in early language development in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is clinically important and may reflect neurobiologically distinct subtypes. Here, we identified a large-scale association between multiple coordinated blood leukocyte gene coexpression modules and the multivariate functional neuroimaging (fMRI) response to speech. Gene coexpression modules associated with the multivariate fMRI response to speech were different for all pairwise comparisons between typically developing toddlers and toddlers with ASD and poor versus good early language outcome. Associated coexpression modules were enriched in genes that are broadly expressed in the brain and many other tissues. These coexpression modules were also enriched in ASD-associated, prenatal, human-specific, and language-relevant genes. This work highlights distinctive neurobiology in ASD subtypes with different early language outcomes that is present well before such outcomes are known. Associations between neuroimaging measures and gene expression levels in blood leukocytes may offer a unique in vivo window into identifying brain-relevant molecular mechanisms in ASD

Atypical genomic cortical patterning in autism with poor early language outcome.

Cortical regionalization develops via genomic patterning along anterior-posterior (A-P) and dorsal-ventral (D-V) gradients. Here, we find that normative A-P and D-V genomic patterning of cortical surface area (SA) and thickness (CT), present in typically developing and autistic toddlers with good early language outcome, is absent in autistic toddlers with poor early language outcome. Autistic toddlers with poor early language outcome are instead specifically characterized by a secondary and independent genomic patterning effect on CT. Genes involved in these effects can be traced back to midgestational A-P and D-V gene expression gradients and different prenatal cell types (e.g., progenitor cells and excitatory neurons), are functionally important for vocal learning and human-specific evolution, and are prominent in prenatal coexpression networks enriched for high-penetrance autism risk genes. Autism with poor early language outcome may be explained by atypical genomic cortical patterning starting in prenatal development, which may detrimentally affect later regional functional specialization and circuit formation

Pavement Management Roadmap

693JJ319D000018693JJ320F000206The FHWA\u2019s update to its Pavement Management Roadmap helps to identify the steps that will address current gaps in pavement management and to establish research initiatives and priorities. Initial gaps were identified based on a literature review, project team knowledge, and a satisfaction survey of Federal, State, and local pavement management practitioners (authorized under Office of Management and Budget control number 2125-0628). They were grouped according to four themes: Theme 1 \u2013 Data, Theme 2 \u2013 Pavement Management Analysis Tools and Other Applications, Theme 3 \u2013 Workforce and Organization Issues, and Theme 4 - Technological Advancements \u2013 New Tools, Methodologies, and Technology. The Roadmap was derived from a series of virtual stakeholder workshops in which representatives from State and local agencies, academia, private industry, and the FHWA met to discuss and prioritize suggestions for enhancing current practices. The Roadmap contains 72 action items (46 short-term and 26 long-term) in 15 improvement areas across the four themes. The results can be used to determine new research, development, and technology transfer opportunities

Lifecycle Cost Analysis RealCost User Manual

DTFH61-07-D-00028-T-09004DTFH6117D00005L/693JJ318F000355Lifecycle cost analysis (LCCA) is an engineering economic analysis tool that compares the relative merit of competing project implementation alternatives. LCCA considers both the agency and user costs incurred during the service life of an asset and helps transportation officials select the most preferred alternative. Additionally, LCCA introduces a structured methodology that accounts for the effects of agency activities on transportation users and provides a means to balance those effects with the system\u2019s construction, rehabilitation, and preservation needs. This manual aims to help users of the Federal Highway Administration\u2019s (FHWA\u2019s) RealCost 3.0, a Microsoft\uae Excel\uae-based LCCA tool to conduct LCCA. This user manual reflects the updated and enhanced RealCost 3.0\u2019s input data requirements, functions, analysis features, and user interface. The RealCost 3.0 tool has been updated to work on both Excel 32- and 64-bit versions and avoids the need for installation or availability of any third-party or other commercial components other than Excel 2010 or newer on end users\u2019 computers. The user manual contains a brief introduction to LCCA and adheres to the LCCA methodology explained in detail within FHWA\u2019s Life-Cycle Cost Analysis in Pavement Design Interim Technical Bulletin (Walls and Smith 1998). It also explains the steps to install and operate RealCost 3.0. Appendix A details the procedure to compute LCCA using examples of three pavement and one bridge projects. Appendix B helps users understand the customization of RealCost 3.0 for their specific needs. The user manual will interest State highway agency personnel and consultants responsible for conducting and reviewing LCCA

Assessing the information desire of patients with advanced cancer by providing information with a decision aid, which is evaluated in a randomized trial: a study protocol

Contains fulltext : 95653.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: There is a continuing debate on the desirability of informing patients with cancer and thereby involving them in treatment decisions. On the one hand, information uptake may be hampered, and additional stress could be inflicted by involving these patients. On the other hand, even patients with advanced cancer desire information on risks and prognosis. To settle the debate, a decision aid will be developed and presented to patients with advanced disease at the point of decision making. The aid is used to assess the amount of information desired. Factors related to information desire are explored, as well as the ability of the medical oncologist to judge the patient's information desire. The effects of the information on patient well-being are assessed by comparing the decision aid group with a usual care group. METHODS/DESIGN: This study is a randomized controlled trial of patients with advanced colorectal, breast, or ovarian cancer who have started treatment with first-line palliative chemotherapy. The trial will consist of 100 patients in the decision aid group and 70 patients in the usual care group. To collect complete data of 170 patients, 246 patients will be approached for the study. Patients will complete a baseline questionnaire on sociodemographic data, well-being measures, and psychological measures, believed to predict information desire. The medical oncologist will judge the patient's information desire. After disease progression is diagnosed, the medical oncologist offers the choice between second-line palliative chemotherapy plus best supportive care (BSC) and BSC alone. Randomization will take place to determine whether patients will receive usual care (n = 70) or usual care and the decision aid (n = 100). The aid offers information about the potential risks and benefits of both treatment options, in terms of adverse events, tumour response, and survival. Patients decide for each item whether they desire the information or not. Two follow-up questionnaires will evaluate the effect of the decision aid. DISCUSSION: This study attempts to settle the debate on the desirability of informing patients with cancer. In contrast to several earlier studies, we will actually deliver information on treatment options to patients at the point of decision making

Assessing the carcinogenic potential of low-dose exposures to chemical mixtures in the environment: the challenge ahead.

Lifestyle factors are responsible for a considerable portion of cancer incidence worldwide, but credible estimates from the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) suggest that the fraction of cancers attributable to toxic environmental exposures is between 7% and 19%. To explore the hypothesis that low-dose exposures to mixtures of chemicals in the environment may be combining to contribute to environmental carcinogenesis, we reviewed 11 hallmark phenotypes of cancer, multiple priority target sites for disruption in each area and prototypical chemical disruptors for all targets, this included dose-response characterizations, evidence of low-dose effects and cross-hallmark effects for all targets and chemicals. In total, 85 examples of chemicals were reviewed for actions on key pathways/mechanisms related to carcinogenesis. Only 15% (13/85) were found to have evidence of a dose-response threshold, whereas 59% (50/85) exerted low-dose effects. No dose-response information was found for the remaining 26% (22/85). Our analysis suggests that the cumulative effects of individual (non-carcinogenic) chemicals acting on different pathways, and a variety of related systems, organs, tissues and cells could plausibly conspire to produce carcinogenic synergies. Additional basic research on carcinogenesis and research focused on low-dose effects of chemical mixtures needs to be rigorously pursued before the merits of this hypothesis can be further advanced. However, the structure of the World Health Organization International Programme on Chemical Safety 'Mode of Action' framework should be revisited as it has inherent weaknesses that are not fully aligned with our current understanding of cancer biology

Equipping Health Professions Educators to Better Address Medical Misinformation

As part of a cooperative agreement with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Federal Award Identification Number [FAIN]: NU50CK000586), the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) began a strategic initiative in 2022 both to increase confidence in COVID-19 vaccines and to address medical misinformation and mistrust through education in health professions contexts. Specifically, the AAMC solicited proposals for integrating competency-based, interprofessional strategies to mitigate health misinformation into new or existing curricula. Five Health Professions Education Curricular Innovations subgrantees received support from the AAMC in 2022 and reflected on the implementation of their ideas in a series of meetings over several months. Subgrantees included the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, the Maine Medical Center/Tufts University School of Medicine, and the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. This paper comprises insights from each of the teams and overarching observations regarding the challenges and opportunities involved with leveraging health professions education to address medical misinformation and improve patient health